Twinkling electric illuminated ornament



July 2, 1957 A. Dl Llzlo ET AL 2,798,148

TWINKLING ELECTRIC ILLUMINATED ORNAMENT Filed Aug. 17, 1953 ING ELECTRIC ILLUMINATED ORNAll/IENT Alexander Di Lizio and Angelo La Greca, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application August 17, 1953, Serial No. 374,542

4 Claims. (Cl. 24o-6.4)

Our invention relates to new and useful improvements in twinkling electric illuminated ornaments and has for one of its objects to provide an exceedingly simple and elective article of this character in which earrings, a bow, rosette or similar ornamental device may be intermittently illuminated by a ashing light produced by gravitational oscillations of a small battery thus eliminating the customary switch mechanism.

Another object of our invention is to provide a shell of any appropriate material to hold an electric lamp and a battery having one terminal in engagement with one pole of said lamp, and a conductor so arranged that the other pole of said lamp may be in constant engagement with one end thereof and the other terminal of said battery positioned for intermittent contact with the opposite end of the conductor making and breaking the electrical circuit due to oscillations of the shell. Primarily it is desired to use a lamp and battery of small size such, for example, as those used in conventional pencil type ash lights and the diameter of the shell is slightly greater than that of the battery whereby the latter is free to move about within said shell during any vibration thereof.

A further object of this invention is to provide a twinkling electric illuminating means consisting of a tubular shell having at least one open end normally closed by a removable cap and adapted to hold a cylindrical battery with the longitudinal axis thereof substantially lengthwise of said shell and smaller than said shell to permit of oscillation of the battery therein, said shell also provided with a lateral electric lamp receiving socket aperture and further having a conductor strip with the ends exposed in spaced locations, one end to be engaged by one pole of the lamp and the other end to be successively intermittently contacted by one terminal of the battery.

With the above and other objects in view this invention consists of certain details of construction and the combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same we will describe its construction in detail referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, in which:

Fig. 1 is a View showing the invention applied to two different types of ornaments on a persons head to illustrate a variety of uses.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of an earring constructed in accordance with the invention and showing in dotted lines some positions assumed by the shell when vibrated due to movements of a wearers head.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the shell illustrating the relation of the lamp, battery and conductor strip when the parts are in operative positions.

Fig. 4 is a view of a bow partly broken away to show an arrangement whereby the invention can be included as a part of another type of ornament.

States Patent O v2,798,148 Patented July 2, 1957 ice In carrying out our invention as herein embodied 10 represents a tubular shell body of any appropriate material and preferably permanently closed at one or the upper end by .an end wall 11. The opposite or lower end, by preference, has an entrance opening 12 which is normally closed by a cap 13 removably attached to the shell body 10 in a suitable manner as by interengaging threads 14. Since there is no weight on the cap it may be snugly slidably tted on the outside or inside of the open end of the shell body or the equivalent of the threads, such as spring lingers or a bayonet joint, can be employed.

On the shell body is mounted a conductor strip 15 appropriately insulated between its ends 16 and 17 which ends are exposed inside of the shell body or within the chamber 18 adjacent opposed ends of said shell body. The intermediate body portion of the conductor strip can be molded in the shell body when the latter is of dielectric material or embedded between the layers of a coiled paper tube forming the shell body.

In the shell body 10 adjacent its bottom end and directly opposite the exposed lower end 17 of the conductor strip 15 is provided a lamp socket opening 19, which may have a thread to receive the threaded base of an electric lamp 20. Where the shell material is such that the lamp thread can form or cut' a thread in said shell material the socket opening need not be originally threaded and further if the base of the lamp is provided with the well known lugs of a bayonet joint the edge of the material about the socket can have one or more notches to receive such lugs.

The electric lamp-20 includes the conventional terminal pole 21 to engage the exposed lowerend 17 of the conductor strip 15 `and the side pole 22 provided by the metal base which is linsulated from the pole 21 as is ordinary. y

In the shell is disposed the upended cylindrical battery 23 having its usual insulating jacket completely or a sufcient portion thereof removed to expose a side contact terminal 24 for vibratory or intermittent engagement With the upper exposed end 16 of the conductor strip 15. The battery 23 is smaller in diameter than the interior diameter of the shell whereby said battery is free to move about or oscillate within said shell and said battery is further provided with an end contact terminal 25, preferably in the form of a small post as usual, to engage and actually rest upon theside pole 22 of the lamp.

The shell cap and lamp are removed from the shell body to permit introduction of the battery and then the lamp is reinserted in the socket opening and the cap replaced. If desired a reflector 26 can be placed behind the glass bulb of the lamp 20.

In some ornaments, such as in connection with a bow 27, the shell is installed in an appropriate part thereof, as in the knot 28 with only the lamp, and the retlector if oneV is provided, exposed to view and the cap accessible for the introduction of the battery to permit renewal when necessary.

In other ornaments, such as earrings 29, the shell is further provided with an eye 30 on the upper end and linked in a companion eye 31 on an ear-lobe clamp 32 or equivalent attaching means to temporarily secure the ornament to a persons ear. When the device is constructed for use as an earring the shell, with the illuminating components, becomes a swinging pendant and the exterior of said shell may be appropriately decorated or ornamented. In all cases the electric lamp may be of any desired color for suitable and selected effects.

Under actual working conditions with the lamp inserted until the end pole 21 thereof is in positive contact with the lower end 17 of the conductor strip 15 and the end terminal 25 of the battery is in resting engagement with the side pole 22 of said lamp, any swinging or vibrating motions of the shell will cause the side terminal portion 24 of the battery to oscillate or move about in a general to andffro direction relative to the upper exposed end: 16 of said conductor strip 15. When the side termi-nal of the battery is in contact with the conductor strip, a circuit through the battery, lamp and said conductor strip is completed and each time the upper end of said battery is moved away from the conductor strip, due to vibration of the shell, said circuit is broken thereby causing an intermittent dashing or twinkling of the lamp.

To. interrupt the circuit, as when illumination is undesirable, the lamp is merely retracted to withdraw it from engagement with the lower end of the. conductor strip 15 or the shell can be inverted to causel the battery to receed from the lamp base.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that we have produced an exceedingly simple, elective and compact article ofl the class described which does not require a switch mechanism of any kind since the circuit is made and broken merely by the oscillations of the battery.

f course we do notwish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein shown and described as these may be varied within the scope of theV appended claims without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having described our invention what we claim as new and useful is: Y

1. 1n an ornament, the combination comprising a tubular shell, pendent means on one end of said shell for freely swingably suspending said shell at said one end thereof from the person of a user, an insulated electrical conductor extending longitudinally along and fixed to one side region of said shell having its opposite ends exposed interiorly of said shell each adjacent to and spaced inward from a respective end of said shell, an electric lamp provided with end and side poles and extending laterally inward through an opposite side region of said shell remote from said one shell end having its end pole rmly contacting the exposed conductor end remote from said one shell end, and an elongate battery provided with an end terminal projecting from one end and a side terminal adjacent to the other end and arranged longitudinally of and loosely within said shell having its end terminal resting freely onsaid lamp in electrical Contact with said side pole to support said battery for lateral shifting movement in said shell upon swinging movement of the latter, the side terminal of said battery being located contiguous to the exposed conductor end proximate to said one shell end for movement into and out of electrical contact with said proximate conductor end upon lateral shifting of said battery.

2. The combination according to claim 1, in combination with an ear lobe attachment swingably connected to said pendant means.

3. The combination according to claim 1, in combination with a decorative device in which the shell is embedded with only the illuminating portion of said lamp visibly exposed.

4` Thev combination according to claim 1, wherein said conductor intermediate its exposed ends is embedded in said one shell wall region.

References Cited inthe tile of this patent UNI-TED SFiAES PATENTS 1,206,275 Wachtel Nov. 28, 1916 2,363,825 Yardeny Nov. 28, 1944 2,400,974 Berman May 28, 1946 2,477,984 Jackson Aug. 2, 1949 2,528,701 Mitchell Nov. 7, 1950 2,546,945 Gaield Mar. 27, 1951 2,632,093 De Meroils etal Mar. 17, 1953 2,634,407Y Johnson Apr. 7, 1953 FOREGN PATENTS 362,864 Germany Nov. 2, 1922 48,681 Norway Nov. 17, 1930 

